Proportion: How much of the narrative is devoted to antecedent circumstances? Notice the long preliminary, the logical necessity for an accurate disclosure of character at the beginning, and compare it with the fine art which leaves the dénouement partly to the reader.
Suggestion.—At what points did you unconsciously create incidents or summarize them?
General Methods of Mrs. Atherton. “I rarely have the solution of a story or novel in mind, merely the principal character, the central idea, and the mis-en-scène. I prefer to let the story work itself out. Else, where would be the fun in it? Writing to me is an adventure, and if I knew beforehand how it was to turn out I should take no more interest in it than I should take in the following year if I knew what was to happen every day. Nevertheless, I would reject any finale that I did not think logical. An arbitrary ending for the sake of dramatic effect or conciliating the public makes the whole book or story worthless artistically.”
THE EXCURSION
Germinal Idea, or Starting-Point. “The ‘Excursion’ was written from the humorous delight I have always felt in excursions; it was started merely as humorous description of certain inevitable excursion types. I put the ‘story’ into already written appreciations of sartorial and millinery triumphs as demonstrated on any well-developed excursion.”—Edwina Stanton Babcock.
Classification. A study in realism, wherein the general picture and all the excursionists are of quite as much importance as the few predominant characters.
Plot. Loosely interpreted, plot may be termed a summing up of the “story,” a recapitulation. Technically, the plot is the underlying plan “of which no part can be removed without ruin to the whole”; it is the development of the struggle or conflict which every “short-story” possesses in common with the drama.
What in “The Excursion” is the struggle? What part does the dialogue between the two sisters play in the revelation of the struggle? If the struggle were made dominant, what lamentable result would follow for the “situation” value of the whole narrative? Is there a hint near the conclusion that the struggle may have an outcome? Is the plot finished, then, as the author has left it? What is the embryonic dramatic climax or turning point? (Find the moment when the feelings of the passengers change toward Mrs. Tuttle.)
Characterization. What types are represented in Mrs. Tuttle? Mrs. Cronney? Mrs. Tinneray? Mr. Tinneray? Mrs. Mealer? Mrs. Bean? The “lady in a purple raincoat”? “A mild mannered youth with no chin?” Miss Mealer? Hypatia Smith? Test the economy and effectiveness of Miss Babcock’s portrayal by asking yourself what further things these people would do or say. Are the types such as would be found in the same boat?
Compare the few figures of prominence with those of the background. Are they in “high relief” or “low relief”?